The Fan

I HAVE TO seriously differ with the same review of this gem of a film. Agreed that George Sanders is wonderful (as usual) and that the bookends of the film are not necessary though rather charming, but the film is a jewel, all the performances are very good and MADELEINE CARROLL in her last film ever is totally wonderful and EXQUISITE.. Jeanne Crain does a credible job playing a British aristocrat, accent and all and Martita Hunt as always steals every scene she is in. The sets and costumes are stunning, and it is a pity it was not filmed in color. Otto Preminger is a strange choice as a director for this vehicle but he is always fascinating, even his misfires and this certainly is NOT one of them.A must see believe me.....

"The Fan" is a film based very loosely on a story by Oscar Wilde. At first, I was very disappointed in the film...as it's VERY slow. But as I watched, it got better and better. Stick with this one...its payoff is pretty good.

The film begins at the present time. A very elderly lady is attending an auction and she sees something of hers, a very expensive fan, being sold without her permission. The auctioneer withdraws the item and tells her to get some proof it is hers...which is a problem as she's been living abroad and most everyone who knew her in London is dead! Then, she remembers that Lord Darlington (George Sanders) knew her and will be able to vouch for her and the fan. The rest of the story is a flashback to many years ago...and the story of how she got the fan takes a VERY long time!

The reason I enjoyed this film is its final third. The first two thirds is just okay...but all the confusion and unanswered questions are taken care of in the final portion. And, because of that, it's well worth seeing...especially with some lovely acting and a good, though longwinded, script.

Save for the casting of Jeanne Crain who was too white bread and too American to be a proper English lady, this version of Lady Windermere's Fan this is a decent enough production. It could also have used the lighter touch of Ernest Lubitsch instead of Otto Preminger.

Simply entitled The Fan Oscar Wilde's plot is told in flashback by two of the surviving principals of the story. Madeleine Carroll as the adventuress Mrs. Erlynne and the cynical Lord Darlington played by the always cynical George Sanders. Both have survived into the post World War II era in their dotage and it takes a while for Sanders to realize who is this old woman pursuing him.

In her younger days Mrs. Erlynne was quite the adventuress looking to break into London society by whatever means. Through a little clever maneuvering she's got Richard Greene as Lord Windermere running interference for her in her object to get to Hugh Dempster and his title. Of course Jeanne Crain thinks the man she thought was as in love with her as she with him is now two timing him. All their little manoeuvrings are recorded with appropriate comments by Sanders who is Wilde himself.

But Carroll has her reasons for saving Crain from making a fool of herself at the cost of Carroll's own plans for advancement.

Watching this I thought Gene Tierney might have carried it off and she was the original choice for the title role. The one who could have done it best was Vivien Leigh. I can't believe Darryl Zanuck didn't try to get her back in America for the role.

Greene is properly dashing as the Victorian Lord, but Sanders was a man born to serve up Oscar Wilde's lines with relish. Sad that the lead was weak or this might have been a classic film.

Preferably before you watch this production I would urge all users to see what in my opinion is the definitive professional performance of this famous 1892 Wilde play which was televised in 1985 and which starred: Helena Little as Lady W., Tim Woodward as Lord W., Stephanie Turner as Mrs Erlynne, Kenneth Cranham as Lord Darlington and Sara Kestelman as the Duchess of Berwick.Yes all the famous quotes are there in this film:1."I can resist everything except temptation" 2."We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars"3."Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"4."What's a cynic?"- "A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing".

Having played Lord Henry Wooton (Oscar's alter ego in "The Picture of Dorian Gray"(1946) George Sanders again assumes this mantle of giving Oscar's aphorisms another tryout playing Lord Darlington.Unless American actors are skilled at British accents (e.g.Renee Zellweger, Gwyneth Paltrow etc.), I find they grate on me as does Jeanne Crain as Lady W.Seeing Richard Greene (Robin Hood from the famous UK 1950s TV series) playing Lord W.gave me a mild shock but Martita Hunt as the Duchess of Berwick was a pleasant surprise.

I don't like Hollywood versions of classic plays as it tends to add a superficial gloss on original British productions and add lines which are not consonant with the original text.I nevertheless enjoyed this film shown in its entirety on www.youtube.com and awarded it 6/10 as I was thrilled to see Madeleine Carroll playing Mrs Erlynne who I have admired since she played the female lead in Hitchcock's "The 39 Steps" (1935).

Based on an Oscar Wilde,a delightful bittersweet period piece which is some kind of reductio ad aburdum that conjugal love can be the way to happiness and that you must not throw it all away.

A long flashback,where a fan sold in auction becomes the Madeleine de Proust which revives memories of long ago,when the two people who meet again after all those years return to a time when they were young and handsome.It's also a good lesson in teaching us that things are not necessarily what they seem.It is also a scathing attack on this society of snubs ,those privileged classes whose favorite pastime is putting their fellow men (and women) down.